NOVEL SIMPLE Chapter 172
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The Diver IV
After Busan and its maiden voyager had been submerged for four days, the ark continued to fulfill its role as an artifact submarine from an ancient civilization, drifting aimlessly around the water column.
[It’s quite an exotic sight, like an orbital elevator from a sci-fi movie.]
That was the Saintess’s evaluation of the craft. From an outsider’s perspective, the sight of the massive waterspout rising from the surface to the troposphere might seem romantic. However, the people aboard the ark had an altogether different take on the matter. They felt like residents of a shantytown, trapped in a watery hell where their rooms could flood at any given moment and their bodies were perpetually drenched. Finding any sense of “romance” in that environment was nearly impossible.
[Residents from other regions also come out here to gaze up at the water column for a day. It’s even visible from Japan.]
“How are the damage reports?”
[The other arks haven’t sustained major damage.]
Despite the noise in the Saintess’s Telepathy, her message was clear enough. How was communication possible even within the super monsoon, you might ask? It was thanks to a method discovered by chance.
I was currently positioned between isolation areas 9 and 10 on the ark. Interestingly, this exact spot corresponded to Platform 9 ?, a location famous for leading to the magical world from another universe.[1] Only from this spot was communication with the outside possible. Its existence was discovered when Dang Seo-rin, just for fun, put up a sign.
We never did figure out why this supposed magical power worked even within the super monsoon. You’d have to ask the anomalies.
“Is there any sign of the super monsoon moving to another region?”
[None so far. The scouts from the Samcheon World Guild are flying around the waterspout and monitoring it day and night, but no significant anomalies have been detected yet.]
[Except, of course, for the very sight of a massive waterspout continuously swirling up to such a height.]
“Understood.”
I nodded to myself. It was as expected.
’At least we’ve prevented the destruction of East Asia.’
If I hadn’t taken any action, the ‘super monsoon’ would have poured heavy rain on the Korean Peninsula, the Japanese archipelago, and the Chinese continent for at least 200 days—possibly even up to 300 days—until every city was submerged. It was a true super monsoon, or a ‘rain anomaly’, an endless summer. It was the majesty of a great ocean anomaly.
[Mr. Undertaker.]
The Saintess’s voice turned cautious.
[Has this monsoon repeated every six years in other cycles as well?]
“No. It’s a relatively recent anomaly. Previously, it mostly affected Southeast Asia and the Americas. Only recently has it shifted toward the Korean Peninsula.”
[Why would that happen?]
I had my own hypothesis. As I’ve mentioned several times, this world maintains a delicate balance among a variety of Outer Gods. A perceptive and wise reader who was familiar with Three Kingdoms history might describe it as a “tripod-shaped” balance.
“Imagine a bathroom bathtub.”
[Bathroom... bathtub?]
“Yes. The bathtub is filled with seven different colored liquids, each using a very unique dye, so they don’t mix or interact with each other. But then, someone—me, the Undertaker—suddenly pulls the drain plug. What happens next?”
[The different colored liquids will all rush toward the drain, causing chaos.]
[The seven dyes represent the seven Outer Gods.]
“Correct.”
The liquids nearest to the drain, red (Infinite Void) and yellow (Infinite Metagame), are sucked down first. Those Outer Gods are eradicated. Then, the remaining liquids, which had been peacefully occupying their respective territories, start converging toward the drain to claim the vacancies.
“The drain is the Korean Peninsula.”
[......]
“More specifically, it’s the area where Outer Gods like Infinite Void have been eradicated.”
As cycles passed, more powerful anomalies seemed to be converging around me. Ultimately, it was a battle to see which came first: my blocking the drain or the bathtub emptying entirely.
“I call this the ‘Bathtub Theory.’”
[Your naming sense can be quite hard to understand sometimes. Like ‘Ubiquitous.’]
What was wrong with Ubiquitous? I thought it sounded great.
[And calling it a ‘bathroom bathtub’ instead of just a ‘bathtub’ makes you sound quite old-fashioned, Mr. Undertaker.]
Why was having a bathtub in the bathroom a symbol of age?
Beep-beep-beep-beep.
Just then, an alarm blared throughout the ark.
- It’s falling again!
- Hold on to something! Anything!
- Buckle up! Don’t grab your bags! Buckle up first!
The veterans adept with aura shouted orders from each isolation area. I couldn’t continue my conversation with the Saintess.
“Sorry. It seems the ocean currents caused by the typhoon are acting up again. If you notice anything strange outside, contact me immediately.”
[Okay. Be careful, Mr. Undertaker.]
Kwoong!
As soon as the communication ended, the massive ark rocked violently. The hull tilted and then immediately plunged downward. It felt like the ark had been struck by a torpedo.
Kyaaah!
- Stay calm! Stay calm!
The ocean currents within the super typhoon were far from gentle. The void poison disguised as sea water surged, swirled, and pounded in continuous waves until the 12-ark fleet was swept away by these currents.
Some days, the water level soared to the height of Mount Everest, 8,000 meters above sea level. On other days, it dropped rapidly to 2,000 meters. The abnormal altitude changes exposed the survivors to health risks—headaches, fainting, bleeding, eardrum rupture, and altitude sickness were common side effects. In severe cases, people were thrown like billiard balls, crashing into bulkheads that shattered their spines.
Even now, the healers with Sim Ah-ryeon as their central force were tirelessly treating the injured in three shifts. Without Sim Ah-ryon, the casualty count would have been at least ten times higher.
Beep-beep-beep-beep...
The sirens from the puppet strings gradually subsided, and the ark’s vibrations slowed. But there was no time to relax.
- Damn, the water’s coming in again!
- Move the water buckets! Move the water buckets!
Whenever there was a ‘fall’ or ‘rise’ within the super monsoon, flooding inevitably followed. Just like on the first day, the isolation areas were completely submerged. However, by now, the survivors had grown accustomed to it. Unlike the first day, where there was significant damage, people now moved in unison to bail out the water.
- Is anyone undergoing a physical transformation?
- There, help that person to the infirmary!
- Move in pairs! Never roam the ship alone!
After four days, the survivors had become much more efficient. Even SCVs could join the fight if needed. Humans were adaptors, beings who overcame their environments. Despite rooms flooding in the blink of an eye and limbs turning into frogs, humans had the strength to accept such changes. My role as a regressor was to create strategies and systems to help this strong vitality endure.
My chin dipped in satisfaction.
’It seems like I can leave for a while without any major issues.’
I returned to the command center. As soon as I opened the steel door, a monkey wrench flew at me. I dodged it easily and saw Noah (formerly Noh Do-hwa) glaring at me with hatred in her eyes.
“Noah, throwing random objects can hurt people.”
“Damn it...”
“What if it wasn’t me coming in just now? Someone could have been seriously injured.”
“I can tell it’s you just by your footsteps,” Noah muttered. “Your footsteps are irritating.”
Her look of utter fatigue was warranted. Living inside a submarine-like environment was far from comfortable. Sirens blared at all times, injuries occurred frequently, and free roller coaster rides were a regular occurrence. Seo Gyu, who prided himself on being a tough guy, had strapped himself to a bed with belts and fainted. Even Dang Seo-rin looked exhausted. Only Yu Ji-won, who seemed to have learned Napoleon’s sleeping methods, was holding up well.[2] Everyone else in the command center was complaining of extreme fatigue.
“Good news, everyone. I’ve checked around, and there were no deaths in this flooding incident.”
“Oh, really. What great news, just great, “ Noah sneered. “Now, if we only didn’t have to endure another 36 days in this rotten hellhole, we might even pop open a bottle of wine. Why are we even doing this...?”
“I have a suggestion.”
“And that is...?”
“If you’re looking to slice something off at the neck, make it the wine bottle’s head, not mine.”[3]
Since this conversation had happened in a previous cycle, I preempted it. Noah’s face twisted with even deeper hatred.
“There are two ways to deal with the super monsoon. One is to endure it. If we hold out for another 36 days, it will end.” I shrugged, adding, “In the previous cycle, I used this method.”
“Then why not use it again? Why the sudden change in strategy...?”
“In the previous cycle, it also took us 31 days to reach a point where no one died.”
“......”
“We still had to hold on for another week either way.”
We had installed puppet strings to facilitate communication between isolation areas, used water buckets to bail out water, and maintained communication with the Saintess between isolation areas 12 and 13. These were all measures learned from sacrifices in previous cycles.
“But now, we’re only on day four. Unless you enjoy roller coasters so much that you want to keep experiencing the thrill, I think it’s a good time to try another strategy.”
Noah stared at me silently. Due to excessive stress, the blood vessels of her left eye had burst, turning the white there blood red. Normally, healers would have immediately treated the eye, but this was wartime. There was no spare medical staff to treat something as trivial as an eye infection.
“So, this second strategy hasn’t been tested before and will be attempted for the first time in this cycle?” she asked finally.
“Precisely.”
“And if it fails...?”
“It will be the mother of success.”
“Damn you...” Noah glared at me with her left eye closed (which was quite difficult to do). “So, what’s this strategy?”
First, I transformed Ha-yul into a turtle shell.
“......”
“Let me know if it’s uncomfortable, Ha-yul.”
“......”
“Oh, right. You can’t speak without your maid doll.”
Thud!
Ha-yul punched me in the back of the head. It didn’t hurt at all. For the record, I was wearing swim trunks. Ha-yul was in a wetsuit. It wasn’t because I wanted to flaunt my abs or give a fanservice swimsuit scene. I aimed to be the first human to swim at an altitude of 8,000 meters (underwater).
Noah grimaced. “Are you insane...?”
“Yes. There must be an anomaly core inside that super monsoon, an ‘eye of the storm.’” I tightened the specially made belt. The turtle shell formed by Ha-yul fit snugly on my back. Despite her resistance, she was essential for this mission.
“How do you plan to find the core in this massive storm...?”
“I will connect Ha-yul’s puppet strings between the arks to create a vast spider web.”
The ark fleet consisted of 12 ships. I planned to link several kilometers of puppet strings between these ships, adjusting them to avoid any tangling. The makeshift radars formed by the 12 ships would move through the storm, automatically searching for the anomaly core.
“It’s highly likely this method will fail, given it’s the first attempt. If the Saintess confirms that we’re dead, just endure for the remaining 36 days.”
“Without you, we’ll probably fall apart soon. What a shitty world...”
“Well then, I’m off.” I opened the window. Seawater rushed in but was blocked by my aura shield. “Ha-yul, don’t you love swimming on vacations?”
“......! ......!”
“Let’s become the first humans to swim in the sky. Ready, set, dive.”
“......!”
“Three, two, one...”
“......! ......!”
“Go.”
With a burst of aura in my legs, I dove into the water, and the rapid currents swept over me. Ha-yul, apparently delighted, kept drumming on my back.
This wasn’t in any way revenge for Ha-yul tormenting me over the Uyuni trip. Absolutely not.
Footnotes:
[1] Platform 9 ? is a location from the Harry Potter series, a hidden train platform where wizarding students would cross from the human world into the magical world to take the train to school. frёewebnoѵēl.com
[2] The French military commander and emperor Napoleon Bonaparte was said to power nap in two- to three-hour increments at a time during the less-busy periods of his day.
[3] Undertaker is probably referring to the glass bottle challenge where people use a knife to slice off the top of a bottle.
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